The invention relates to a method for the distributed execution of an interactive multimedia program, comprising:
the interpretion of user signals received in a local station and conversion of these signals into user commands, PA1 the execution of the user commands in an application program, thus generating presentation commands, PA1 the selection and fetching audiovisual data from a local mass memory by means of the presentation commands, and PA1 the presentation of the audiovisual data on local reproduction means. PA1 the user commands are applied from the local station to a central station, and PA1 the presentation commands generated in the central station are dispatched to the local station in order to execute said selection and presentation. PA1 local reproduction means for presentation of the audiovisual data, PA1 a local mass memory for the storage of audiovisual data, PA1 connection means for connecting the local station to a central station, PA1 control means for generating user signals, PA1 means for interpreting the user signals and for converting these signals into user commands, PA1 means for dispatching the user commands via the connection means and for receiving presentation commands formed in the central station, PA1 means for selecting and fetching audiovisual data from the local mass memory on the basis of the presentation commands, PA1 means for presenting the audiovisual data on the local reproduction means, PA1 coupling means for functionally coupling the local reproduction means, the connection means, the local mass memory, the control means and the other means.
The invention also relates to an apparatus which, when suitably programmed, is suitable for use as the local station according to the described method.
An interactive multimedia program comprises two important elements which have a major effect on the degree of suitability of equipment for executing such a program. The first element is the interactive aspect. This means that during the execution of a program a user of the program issues given commands by means of the control means, and that the consequences of these commands are presented to the user almost immediately. The second important element concerns the multimedia aspect. This means that the program response is not only in the form of textual messages but especially also in the form of images and sound.
An example of a station suitable for the execution of an interactive multimedia program is a CD-i player. The architecture of a CD-i player is described on pages 133-140 of "Compact Disc-Interactive: A Designer's Overview", J. M. Preston, Kluwer Technical Books, Deventer, the Netherlands, 1988. A CD-i player is a consumer product and inter alia because of that it has a limited working memory and a limited program execution capacity. It is difficult or even impossible to execute extensive programs requiring intensive calculations, by means of a CD-i player.
In the professional computer environment a more or less comparable problem has arisen in respect of the use of workstations, being local computers available to one user. The local workstation is not suitable to execute large programs sufficiently quickly. In that environment this problem is solved by connecting the workstation to a powerful central computer which performs a number of tasks for the workstation. The connection between the workstation and the central computer has a large bandwidth in order to transport the data to the workstation without confronting the user of the workstation with an annoying delay. Notably because of the large bandwidth required for the connection, this solution is not suitable for use in the consumer environment where, moreover, the local station and the central station will usually be very remote from one another.